4.28.2008

Mia and I had an amazing time visiting my mom last week. I was able to relax on the hammock swing and watch my daughter play with her Ita. Ita brought out the Peter Rabbit tea set. Mom also brought out my little school desk...during last Thanksgiving, my cousin Michelle taught Mia how to draw a turkey using the shape of her hand...Mia still loves to do this.

My mom has a fabulous garden....in it, she's hidden little animals. A pair of doves, a turtle, a lizard and a rabbit that all seem to find different hiding spots every night. Mia had the funnest time finding them all over again each morning. She even tried to feed them flowers. Julie, a family friend, came over with her two awesome kids, Mara & Miran. Mia was thrilled to have a playdate...even though she gnawed on a princesses head and spilled bubble juice. She was captivated by Mara & Miran's rough play with each other. They had a ball on...and off the swing.

My mom had a bird bath that fell over and the bowl broke in half, so she made a sculpture out of it...Mia shouted, 'LOOK mama! Ita has CLAMS!' Every evening, Mia 'helped' her Ita water. Ita watered the plants, Mia watered the weeds. Ummm, sometimes Mia got a little wet :) oh yeah, Mia has an affinity for Max's food....Max is Ita's DOG!...she would actually sneak into the kitchen and steal some. When asked what she just ate, she replied 'nothing'. We also went to the butterfly garden and birding center. Mia ran and ran and ran. Ita pointed out a few things of interest. Mia also met the wrong end of a cactus....but just barely. Mia and I hit the local art & science museum. She had a hard time understanding why people put all these velvet ropes everywhere...barricades don't apply to her. She also found some building supplies and had fun with binoculars.and some other fav pics:

4.27.2008

i'm one of those girls with a fucked up body image. i've been thin. i've been fat. i've been everywhere in between. on the days that i feel all svelte, i can conquer the world! on the days that i feel like a chubby manatee...well, those days just suck.

everyone who has ever taken a photo of me, or been around when it's happened, knows that i have issue with a certain double chin. it shows up...even on the days when i'm feeling like a barbie doll...not as plastic, of course.

i've been fighting with myself lately about loosing my toddler weight...i don't think i can still blame it on the non-existent baby....i have a full blown toddler now. i'm not going to go on and on about the diet i'm starting tomorrow. i'm still fighting and the enchiladas are winning!

during the trip to the valley, Mia and i hit the museum. in the kids area they had fun house mirrors. there's nothing fun about them...well, except the one where i've been stretched and look svelte :)

4.25.2008

we got here on Tues. it's so flat, brown, dry and dusty. i told that to a friend of mine who's originally from Browsville (another valley town), and she said it wouldn't be the valley if it wasn't like that. it's true. it's just a different kind of beauty....mesquite trees, cactus, palm trees.

my mom has an awesome hammock swing hanging from a hugemongous tree. it (with a cold beer) rocks me till i get sleepy before bed, and awake (with my chai) in the morning. i'm resolved to get one when we get a house with big trees. now, if i could just take some of these birds home. they make the sounds of my childhood. i don't hear them anywhere else. i know some are mourning doves...but the rest, well, i have no desire to find out. i just simply love them.the first night here, i really missed my dad. he died 6 years ago right after christmas. there are so many things that remind me of him...but so many things have changed, too. it was a hard first night out on that swing.

since then, it's been so much better. i'm loving everything for what it is, not for what i still wished it were.

4.23.2008

First off, Mia is a Super Awesome flying companion!!! While waiting to board, she chatted with strangers and hopped around...then glued her nose to the window watching the planes and crews working below. She picked out a window seat and once belted she kept repeating '1,2,3 BLASTOFF!!!!' I got her to bring it down to a whisper and she was totally fine...even while blasting off. Now, let it be known that I'm afraid to fly..not flying ...dying! Flying just makes me feel like dying will happen soon. Mia kept me distracted enough to not remember my fear. She's so good to me :) When her ears bothered her, she pointed to them, she drank from her sippy cup and was fine. She ROCKS!

We took an hour cab ride from the airport to my moms house...Mia had yogurt pretzels, so she was fine as wine. I carefully watched the driver who drove way too fast with not so good brakes. The ironic thing was that he was the same driver that picked up my sister and Mike and drove them to my mom's during Christmas. How random is THAT?!?! The Valley, smack in the middle of a drought, is a dry place. The grass is brown, everything is dusty. It kind of hurt my heart. Then we made it to Ita's house!!! Her trees are so big and her garden is so lush, I felt like I was in a rain forrest compared to even her neighbor's yards. She was THRILLED to see us and we were THRILLED to see her!

I'm getting tired, so I'll just post a few picks from today....and one of Mia talking to her sweet Dada on the phone. We're having a ball, but we sure miss him.

4.22.2008

it's 8:34am and we leave at 11am for the airport. i still haven't packed a thing. this is me living dangerously. when i was younger i was a bit of a thrill seeker...i've found it again :)off to slowly drink my chai until Mia wakes up and i guess i'll start packing then...packing with a toddler underfoot...it add to the thrill!stay tuned for my blog entry on everything i forgot to pack.

My chick, Mia and I are scheduled to depart tomorrow for a 4 day trip to see my mom. um, I'm not even CLOSE to being ready. that's probably because i haven't actually started yet. I've been online checking my email and fav blogs. i have tons of laundry to do, luggage to get out, snacks to sort through, toys, books, stickers to gather. and it's not like we're driving. we're flying, so i can't really put off departure time. hell, i'd rather exercise than get ready...well, maybe not exercise :)

4.20.2008

We went to pick up the snapper after a weekend of fun....for us all. It was so awesome to see her again. She was a little overwhelmed to see us, so I took her into the back room, rested with her and sang songs until she settled down. It was a nice. Then she ran to her Nana for a big hug.

Daryl continued Mia's pool lessons today. I use the word lessons very loosely here. They always have fun and quit when she's ready. It's so cute how she pushes her little blue chair over so she can reach. They got a lot of dada/daughter time today, which is wonderful, because Mia and I will be away from him from Tues-Sat visiting Mia's Ita (my mom). That's the first time we've been apart for so long. I got him all weekend :)

We had loads of fun and I'm just too tired to elaborate. Here are some pics to do the talking for me.